The 1st Amendment in the 1st 100 Days

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

MSU faculty and staff must balance freedom of expression with student safety. The Office of Institutional Equity is at this controversial and difficult balance point. The office is the channel for students to report discriminatory acts or hate speech.

Hundreds of people joined in the March for Science on Saturday, April 22, at the Capitol to celebrate Earth Day. The mission of the march was to encourage evidence based policy, or the use of scientific studies, to create or improve policies.

A bill has been introduced to ban Michigan residents from using other countries’ laws in state courts. The bill was introduced after a Muslim doctor in Detroit performed female genital mutilation on two children from Minnesota.

Digital searches and discrimination are surfacing as citizens and non-citizens are being searched at the U.S. border. The Knight First Amendment Institute of Columbia College is suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security over the practice. The Knight First Amendment Institute suspects that Homeland Security is stopping and searching travelers who have Muslim names on their documents. A red flag was raised when Homeland Security refused to hand over the list of who is stopping at the border. “If it is the case that people of the Muslim faith or with Muslim sounding names are getting different treatment, that could be a constitutional problem because it could be seen as a way of the government being in favor of those who are not Muslim,” said Okemos attorney and First Amendment expert John Fraser.

Imagine choosing between completing a moral duty in public or ignoring the duty for the sake of security and safety. A choice that many non-Muslims may not understand. A choice that Muslim student Batoul Sadek faces when deciding whether to pray in a public space on Michigan State University’s campus or to ignore the number one commandment given by God. God commands reciting from the Quran five times a day, and three of those prayers usually occur during work and class schedules for Sadek. Sadek’s favorite study spot is at the MSU library and chooses to pray within the rows of book shelves or privately next to her desk.

It is a big decision for Muslim women to begin wearing a hijab. It’s an outward declaration of religious affiliation and it can come with stigmas. Mahbuba Fidda, an MSU Law Library assistant who is Muslim but chooses to not wear a hijab made a point that Islamic women are not the only individuals who cover their heads. Jews, Christians, Hindus and many other religions practice similar forms of modesty. “To me, religion is inside, between you and God.

About this project

This Michigan State journalism project looks at how First Amendment freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition are exercised and tested during the first 100 days of the Trump administration.

In Case You Missed It

Summertime poses as the perfect opportunity for students to make and earn money for the up-and-coming school year but with more and more summer internships failing to offer compensation for their time students can struggle to make ends meet. “When I first got my internship I was so excited,” said Michigan State University pre-med student Ali Beydoun, “then found out it was unpaid and I got a little worried.